Introducing the T-POW!!! Patent Pending

I know I have been in a crafting funk. I've also been really busy and have not had the time to craft even if I wanted to.

Until I saw THIS! Again for the 100th time.

IF YOU HAVE A SMALL CHILD OR A KITTEN, THEN YOU WILL NEED THIS!

IF YOU HAVE A BATHROOM WITH A TOILET, THEN YOU WILL WANT THIS!

Introducing the T-POW!

A custom designed decorative toilet paper protector. Do you see those decorative buttons? Oh yeah that's so the T-POW fits around the TP as the roll gets smaller and smaller. I kept these buttons plain because I didn't want to take aways from the fabric. The buttons could be a great way to "fancy" it up!


YOU KNOW YOU WANT ONE TOO! It looks so good in the new bathroom. I hope to make curtains with the same fabric. I LOVE the fabric. It matches perfectly!!


My neighbor Dori assisted me with the design. I almost used Velcro instead of making this pretty loop to go over the buttons.


I'm even going to make one for The Boy's bathroom. His buttons are green. Fancy! This picture hardly does the fabric or the buttons justice. It's the perfect color green.


The T-POW is super easy to make and doesn't take a lot of time. I'm making a Dallas Cowboy's one for my Co-Worker. I've already got orders placed. Would you use the T-POW?

Bring it on.....

Spring is coming. Spring is coming. It was actually sunny and nice this past weekend. Take a peek at what the SUN inspired me to do. Thanks to Lowes, and the way they perfectly arrange all the goodies for us impulse buyers. lol

We planted a total of 8 tulips, 4 on each side of our driveway. What a difference a tiny POP of color can do to really make your house look wonderful!

I could not resist this little guy. $14.95 at Lowes, isn't he adorable. I think so! I just hope he doesn't get stolen.

We found this cute planter at Home Goods. It was originally a faded worn white color. The BF spray painted it to match the house and he also picked out the pretty plants. We placed this in the front yard right behind our bench which is directly in front of our front window.

Oh BTW, yes we landscaped that front area ourselves. The BF took out a ton of bushes and we laid the black mesh down and the ground cover. Purchased the stones and the fence, he even built the bench. That was the first project we did last year when we moved in. Hey it's all about the curb appeal and ALL the houses one our court have it! Just keeping up with the JONES'S, I guess.

My cute frogs, I purchased these little guys from ABC Distributors. The stand we found at home goods for $9.99.

I might kick myself for saying this, because summer usually consists of 104 degree plus weather for weeks on end, BRING ON THE SUN!

Soda Machines, Awards and MEME's. What does it all mean.

Over the weekend I was tagged and given another award. I'm the bomb and we all know it. I can't believe how lucky of a blogger woman I am. Thank You, Thank You. No pictures please, I haven't had my daily botox injections or my extensions put in.

Mimi over at Living in France presented me with this wonderful Award. Please check out her blog, she writes wonderful posts and is a dedicated commenter. She is hilarious, if you don't believe me check out her post "A Fart by any other name.....Is still Frikken embarrassing." If that post doesn't pull you in, I don't know what will. lol Thank you so much MIMI, for thinking of me. I must award this to four blogs, so here I go:

Emilisq
Mama Mel
Valerie
Yonca

I've been tagged by Twenty Something Mom. Check this out and everyone is invited to participate- MEME. Don't forget to check out her blog, you have to see her post A Poet who didn't know it. OMG what wonderful pictures and how cute is that poem?

Here are the rules of this
1. Collect the book that you have most handy.
2. Turn to page 161.
3. Find the 5th complete sentence.
4. Cite the sentence on your blog.

The Friars Club, Encyclopedia of Jokes - (Hey I'm at work and this was the closest book to me. I could have grabbed "Quickies" but I thought this to be more appropriate. What my company writes Jokes, Horoscopes etc for facebook, we have some crazy stuff happening here all the time.

Okay so this book, yeah racial jokes not very appropriate. Lets try again as I guess I was wrong.

The book Quickies, Fascinating Facts About the Facts of Life. Our celebrity content writer recently left the company and she placed this book, plus others on her desk. THIS IS NOT MY BOOK. I promise. She can attest for that.

"Although (their) actions are reprehensible, we agree that the voyeurism statute, as written, does not prohibit up-skirt photography in a public place."

Okay there you go. Sorry I'm not sure I like this MEME. Hmmm what do you think? I think I need someone to recommend a book to me. I haven't read anything since Sunday at Tiffany's.

SODA MACHINE, SODA MACHINE. I WANT A SODA MACHINE. The moment you've all been waiting for. So my sister purchased a Soda Machine. When she first told me I was like, "What, yeah that's really healthy." till I went on the company's website. This was nothing like I expected it to be. After reading all the information about the machine, I actually think this is pretty cool. Here is the website: http://www.sodastreamusa.com/

So here is what they say about nutrition:

Controlling Sugar, Carbs or Calories? Welcome to SodaStream
If you're looking for great tasting soda, but on a low sugar or no sugar diet plan, just cutting back on carbs or concerned about calories, SodaStream is for you. With a SodaStream home soda maker and over 25 delicious regular, diet and caffeine-free soda mix flavors to choose from, you'll enjoy freshly made, great tasting soda that fits your health and dietary needs.

Regular Soda mix flavors contain less sugar, calories, carbohydrates and sodium than national drink brands. Regular flavors are sweetened with a combination of sugar and Splenda® brand sweetener. Diet soda mix flavors contain no sugar, no aspartame and are sweetened with Splenda® brand sweetener.

SodaStream even has all-natural, unsweetened flavor essences for making refreshing, lightly flavored sparkling water. MyWater flavor essences are available in Orange and Lemon-Lime - just like squeezing a wedge of citrus into your seltzer.

So go ahead and close your eyes and take a sip. There's no mistaking the delicious taste of all your familiar favorites including Cola, Lemon-Lime, Root Beer and a whole variety of fruit flavors.

Here is what they say about Environment:
Americans drink more than 55 billion liters of soda and seltzer each year. That's almost 200 liters - about 600 cans - for every adult and child in the United States. And, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, that adds 10 1/2 cubic feet of packaging per American — over 3 billion cubic feet - in our landfills and recycling facilities every year. With a SodaStream home soda maker, you'll enjoy freshly made, great tasting seltzer and soda in just seconds ... and you'll be helping our environment by drastically reducing waste from store-bought cans and bottles. And with no batteries or electricity, you can use your soda maker in your kitchen, outdoors on your patio or deck, or on your boat or RV.Reusable Bottles Reduces Packaging:

No bottles or cans to recycle or throw away
Saves thousands of containers for a family of four in a year
Carbonating bottles last for three years

Highly concentrated soda mix minimizes packaging A family of four could slash their home soft-drink-related packaging usage by over 90%, simply by using a SodaStream soda maker. That's a whole lot of cans and bottles that won't end up polluting our environment. SodaStream's plastic carbonating bottles are reusable for up to three years, and Penguin glass carbonating carafes will last even longer than that with proper care. A typical American will toss away over 1500 aluminum cans (and/or hundreds of plastic 2-liter bottles) over three years — while a SodaStream owner will use just one or two reusable carbonating bottles or carafes that come with the home soda maker.

SodaStream's highly concentrated Soda mix syrups also dramatically reduce waste. A single bottle of Soda mix will make 12 liters of soda, the equivalent of 34 cans or six 2-liter bottles. Choose from over 25 regular, diet and caffeine-free flavors including Cola, Root Beer, Lemon-Lime and fruit combos like Cranberry-Raspberry, Apple-Peach and Pink Grapefruit. Take a sip, enjoy ... and feel good that you're helping the environment.

Saves Energy: No Electricity, No Batteries, No Transport Miles
No batteries or electricity
Reduces energy used to manufacture bottles and cans
Reduces gas and pollution from shipping packaged beverages
Eliminates pollution from batteries

Operating without batteries or electricity, SodaStream home soda makers are highly energy-efficient small appliances. Appliances that work without electricity improve the environment by cutting down on the emissions generated by electrical plants, giving us cleaner air and ground water.By operating completely on power supplied by the compressed air in the carbonator - an easily renewable fuel source - SodaStream does not contribute to environmental pollution made by batteries. Empty carbonators are returned to SodaStream to be cleaned, inspected and refilled with CO2 drawn naturally from the air. Carbonators are reusable as long as they remain in good condition.

Store bought soda and sparking water travels hundreds of miles from the bottling plant to the store shelf, usually in trucks that get fewer than 10 miles to the gallon. Instead, SodaStream uses the water that's already in your home, saving literally tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.

Tell me would you buy one of these? What do you think about it? I'm considering it. I love the sparkling water idea. Hopefully my sister will comment on this explaining what is she loves and hates about the machine. I really thought this was going to be like the fountain machines you see in Fast Food restaurants. The downside I think is you can't make a cup of soda, you have to make a whole bottle. I think it would be more convenient to make it buy the cup and be able to choose your flavors. Like the Keurig Coffee maker. If you don't know what a Keurig Coffee maker is, OMG you're missing out. I LOVE MINE!! You have to google it!!

Migranes and Milkshakes

Last night I had the worst migraine. Who the heck am I kidding, this one was actually better then some of the others I have had. I only dry heaved into the toilet instead of actually throwing up this time. The only difference was this time my right eye was all puffy and swollen. Allergies I think have taken a toll on me. Anyway, I think that's my favorite word, Anyway. So the only thing that helps to settle my stomach when I get a migraine is a milkshake. Yum right, sometimes but last night I couldn't even drink it. My head and eye were pounding and all I wanted to do was sleep and I couldn't even do that. Back to the story, what a waste of me notdrinking that yummy creamy vanillas milkshake. Well not as much of a waste as this! I was shocked and thinking what the heck? I tend to think that a lot lately, what the heck. Seriously though what is McDonald's thinking? No I didn't have any ice cream in my freezer or I would have made my own milkshake. I'm not rich, but I HAD to have one to cure my nauseated stomach.

Yes that's my name carved in the cup, cause it's STYROFOAM! Hello why are they using Styrofoam. At least the plastic cups I could re-uses at the beach for my son to make sand castles and for him to use in the bathtub. What am I supposed to do with this? Do they realize that Styrofoam is so bad for the environment? Come on McDonald's, I thought you had the one up on everyone else with your "economy saving" mini $3 meals, healthier (well healthier for fast food) food options and now offering cheap great tasting coffee as an alternative to the expensive Starbucks. You just took a huge step backwards, as yes, this could make me not want to frequent your establishment.

Maybe making the Styrofoam cups is less evasive on the environment then making paper cups? Is that enough to offset the fact that Styrofoam doesn't degrade in landfills? Or does it now? Maybe I've just been brainwashed about Styrofoam? I don't know I'm still learning about being "Green" and if you have any explanation or reasoning as to why they would do this, or if you just plain agree with me and think it's wrong then speak up.

Disappointed and thinking I might actually call the 800 number on the cup to complain or get an explanation as to why!

Green School Supplies....No way....Not just your average recycled paper....

So I was shopping at Target yesterday, I haven't been here in a while because I now live so close to Walmart, that I've been neglecting my once favorite store to frequent. So the BF was off looking at Football cards and the Boy was in the Bakugan aisle, while I was looking at candles. As I approached the end of the candle aisle, I spotted these strange looking things funky things hanging there.

"What the heck is that!" I thought to myself. I might even had said that under my breath, I can't totally remember. Then I touched them, because I was so amazed. If you were there, you would have had to actually touch them and open them too, to really appreciate them. The best news of all, each one was only $1.

WHAT A DOLLAR?? NO WAY!!

OH YES WAY!!

You can be green and still be a cheap ba***rd like me. I don't think my son would like them, but I loved them and I think if you have a daughter she'd so sport these at school. It reminds me of those clutch purses made of gum wrappers, have you seen those? SO CUTE!!

Anyway tell me what you think, would you buy these?

These are pencil pouches. They are so cute and I can think of a ton of things this can be used for besides holding pencils. Use it to store your coupons, how cute would this look in your kitchen, right??This is a homework folder made out of old lays chip bags. You have to see these really, I'm serious, to appreciate them.

I know these are just plain pencils but the frog is so cute. Again only $1. Who said being Green was expensive?

And the GRAND POOBAHH of them all. This plastic pencil case. It comes in this pretty, pretty pink or a blueish green color. AGAIN ALL FOR $1

If you live near a target go check these out. Even if you don't have kids in school, I think these are wonderful items if you are in the need to store some stuff.



So how cool is this $4 find at Walmart? It's an aluminum water bottle. I love it!!

Remember every little bit helps, if you can't re-use and you need to buy, then buy GREEN!!

Shop Local be Vocal

So I'm really getting into being GREEN and want to show some blog love to


http://thecordialcricket.blogspot.com/



Shop Local, Be Vocal
Do us (and a few million other independent, small businesses) a favor this week. Shop locally at 3 independent locally owned stores in your area this week, preferably 3 whom you would never want to see disappear. Then, be vocal about it and comment on this post to tell us which 3 stores in your town that you chose!

Visit http://www.the350project.net/home.html for more info on the shopping local movement!

We thank you in advance :)

Join in and spread the word. Let us know where you are shopping!!

Wardrobe malfunction or..........CONTEST!!

CONTEST, CONTEST, CONTEST, CONTEST, CONTEST, CONTEST!!!

MEDIOCRE AT BEST, BUT THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO BE A LITTLE GREENER AND HAVE A LITTLE CREATIVE FUN.

So yesterday at work my shoe broke. Yup the part of the flip flop that goes right between your toes separated from the shoe. I tried to staple it back together, that didn't work. So I tried to tape it, and that didn't work. Finally I tried to staple and tape it back together, and that didn't work either. So I just gave up.

Yesterday I was on someones blog, I can't remember who, but she had found a piece of Styrofoam in her house to which she turned it into this great board that holds jewelry. All she did was use some left over fabric and some cute pins.

This sparked my newest project and my first contest. YAY ME!!

Is this shoe problem really a malfunction or is this broken shoe a.....(YOU FILL IN THE BLANK)

Please submit your ideas as to what I could turn this broken shoe into to re-purpose it?

WHAT DO YOU WIN???

The person who submits the most creative, useful idea will get the re-purposed shoe mailed to them.


The only other catch is the winner, once they receive the shoe must write a post on their blog describing this contest and how you came up with the winning idea. Don't forget to post a picture of the re-purposed shoe on your post and link back to my blog.

This will hopefully inspire more people to re-purpose even the most random of items found in there homes, parks or wherever.

So send me your ideas, I'll pick the best idea Monday morning!

Creatively lacking.

To be GREEN or not to be GREEN

So normally I do my shopping at Winco, Walmart and Target. Yes I am frugal, but mostly I'm just broke and well, because that's what I can afford. I mean I would love to shop at Raley's ALL the time. I mean who wouldn't, have you been in that place? I think it blows Whole Foods out of the water (at least the one in my area does). WOW, the variety of different foods, and man they taste so good, but going there is always far and in between for me (except of course when I need Lemon Curd).

So since I sit in a car for 4 hours a day commuting (152 miles a day), I have to fit in where I can all my errands. Trader Joes, like Raley's use to be a store I went into for specialty items not normally found in the regular grocery store. However, due to its very convenient location, right across the street from my work, I have found myself going there on my lunch quite often to pick up the 1 or 2 items I need to complete my dinner. Well I'm all for going green, and I have to say I am so far from perfect that it makes me sick, but at least I admit it. However, when I do get the green bug up my butt I try to do my part, I mean every little bit helps rights? Not in this case. This one lady at Traders Joes, come on now seriously woman! Sometimes you have to just draw the line. Sometimes the whole bit about "every little bit counts" washes itself out and it becomes null and void.

So back to me being Green (of course because life's always about me), when I go there I do spend $.99 on a re-usable bag, because I always forget mine at home, or I'm using the previous one I bought for something else like storing my crochet blanket. Being as Green as I am, which is very little, it still annoys me when I shop there because EVERYTHING they have is wrapped in plastic. Most of the time I only need fresh veggies and ALL of it is wrapped in plastic. WHY? What's the point? This makes you so UN-GREEN, that I don't get how they can give you a coupon if you bring your own bag in? Hypocritical don't you think? Sadly, I buy it anyway (like hundreds of other people out there in the world) mostly because I'm in a hurry not by choice (Yes we all have a choice, but back to my busy schedule). I don't have time nor do I want to get back in my car even for another 10 minutes to drive to a large grocery store just to buy 2 items. It doesn't make sense to me to waste even MORE gas then I already do. I did though get rid of my gas guzzling car (17 MPG) for a civic (40MPG), so I do make my own sacrafices here and there but I'm not anal about it. Okay I did not trade cars to be more green, even though being greener did cross my mind and I truly am now, but to be honest I mostly did it because I couldn't afford the gas anymore and well over all it just made more sense. Here I go again, back off track, now back on. So I'd rather walk across the street to Trader Joes then spend another minute in the car, to be short and blunt.

Sorry about that I tend to wander off track, so stay with me. Or I need to stay with it and not wander, or yeah okay anyway.

So this lady in front of me, who has a whole cart full of groceries. I am talking $176 dollars worth to be exact, is trying to stuff all of her groceries into 4, yes count them 4 re-usable bags. She is taking her sweet time, trying to organize and re-organize the items. In the bag they went, out the bag they went, into another bag they went, out that bag they went, all because she didn't want to use a paper bag or purchase another re-usable bag. So there I stood, having flashbacks of last Saturday as my neighbors and I sat and drank coffee while watching our other neighbor pack and unpack his car till everything fit just right for their vacation. Only that was funny to watch, this not so much. I tried SOOOO hard to bite my tongue, "It's not all gonna fit lady, buy another bag!"

Okay wait for it, here's my point to all this:

Does this crazy lady even realize that EVERYTHING she just bought is wrapped in PLASTIC? Is this really happening? Is she really worried about using 1 or 2 paper bags or spending another $.99 on another re-usable bag, when all of her food is wrapped in PLASTIC and she just spent $176? I mean SERIOUSLY lady, if you're as green conscious as you are acting right now, then you wouldn't be spending $176 at Trader Joes! A place that is the LEAST GREEN store around. I don't care if they sell Organic or Local or what have you it's all wrapped in plastic. Take your little re-usable bag and go be green at the farmers market if you're going to be this ANAL. Buy local, buy fresh, because yes you had a lot of Veggies in your cart and this is not the place to buy them if you are Green conscious. Otherwise stop wasting everyone's time and either bring more re-usable bags with you (I know you've done this before, learn woman, learn!), buy another re-usable bag or just bite the bullet and use the paper ones provided by the store for free.

Oh, what happened in the end? Well she made most of it fit, the rest went back loosely into her cart and she walked away. When she get's home, I'm sure most of her food will be squashed, that's her karma.

It's people like this that hold up grocery lines and traffic for hours. People like this who I just want to B**ch slap across the head and tell them "WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!" Seriously, don't fake the funk. I'm not one to talk but at least I admit my faults where ever they may be, and I know I'm anal, but Lady "Seriously!"